The Fair Work Amendment (Same Job, Same Pay) Bill 2021 threatens the viability of labour hire services and ignores the views of more than the 360,000 employees in the industry.
“The Federal Opposition’s plan to increase labour hire regulation risks undermining the competitiveness and flexibility of Australia’s workforce,” ACCI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.
“This Bill means that labour hire employees won’t receive the pay rates they negotiated, but instead rates negotiated by other employers and employees they have never met. Labour hire employees will become the only employees in the country denied any role in negotiating their wages.
“Paying a labour hire employee the wage set by a ‘host employer’ is grossly unfair. Regardless of the labour hire employees’ existing rates, their views, or negotiations with their employer, labour hire workers won’t get a say under this Bill.
“Employers and employees should be able to sit down and make their own decisions regarding employment conditions and wages in compliance with workplace regulations.
“The reality is that unions don’t like labour hire because most labour hire workers don’t join unions.
“It is neither fair nor accurate to undermine an industry and deny its employees any democratic say in how they work.
